Dr. Mary Ellen Fisher seemed pleasant at first, but it quickly became clear that she was judging me and not listening to me. It could have been my green hair, it could have been my explaining that I use cannabis to help me sleep when I'm experiencing insomnia, or that I prefer acupuncture to Western medicine when available / appropriate. It also could have been that in frustration I began crying.

She relied heavily on a depression screening questionnaire that I was asked to fill out to decide I was depressed even though I had come in asking for help diagnosing what I felt was a hormone or thyroid issue. I have a long history of depression and had no doubt that it was more than that. Depression is also a symptom for countless medical disorders, it is not a root cause like so many medical professionals would like you to believe.

The visit was lengthy, but not for the reason Dr. Mary Ellen Fisher would claim. I had come prepared with research and questions, perhaps not her typical patient. She insisted on fighting me or attempting to prove me wrong with every question, and frequently her responses were unfounded. For example, when I expressed an unnatural craving for sugar she went on to explain how that was 'normal' because our 'caveman ancestors' craved sugar, too, and that was why they ate fruit...

My mom, who I had asked to join me for the visit and who has been a Registered Nurse for more than a decade, looked at me and we both exchanged looks of disbelief.

Dr. Mary Ellen Fisher left the room twice to manage personal matters, one time being a call from her son, and then as we finally wrapped up the visit she went on trying to guilt me about her having missed her lunch. Completely unprofessional and inaccurate.

While she did provide me with a series of blood tests I was hoping for, she refused to discuss my bloodwork results or refer me to an endocrinologist until I had found and worked with a therapist for a few months, and made an active effort to lose weight. ... This is not diagnostic in nature. This is body shaming and lazy patient care. Even when my results came back and there was a serious Vitamin D deficiency, she refused to respond to my Stanford Health email asking for a recommended dosage.

Luckily I was able to stay in the practice and switch to Dr. Lilian Tsao who has been exactly the type of doctor I'd hoped for!

* Edited to add: I mysteriously received a bill today (July 18, 2019) more than 9 months! after my first and only appointment with this woman. I'm told by Stanford Health that it's past the time frame for them to send it to my insurance so it is up to "them" to decide if they want to waive the fees.

I will not be paying for anything that was fully covered by the insurance I've had since 2 months prior to that appointment and continue to have today. I've had 4 appointments with the other doctor in this practice and not a single issue with billing.

Sketchy practices. Be careful of this one!